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My Very Late IM Texas Race Report
Yes I'm late to the party with my report but work keeps me from doing a lot of this at this time of the year. So This was my first full IM. I was suppose to do this race last year but herniated 2 disc in my back that put me out of running and training for 2 months. So I rehabbed my back and worked hard to come back stronger. And I did at IM Muncie 70.3! PR'd all 3 disciplines and decided that Texas was on the radar for my first full IM.
I will say that I made a lot of 'rookie' mistakes for my first full IM but the goal was to finish no matter what. If things went well then I could work towards the long term goals of dropping times down and building on this. All of my training went very well! My swim improved along with the bike and the run. I did all my bike training on my trainer due to the cold weather and rain during this time. Nutrition worked out well and I even dropped race weight from 148 to 145lbs. So here goes my race results....if anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears!
I chose not to participate in the team dinners and such as I just wanted to try and duplicate what worked for me last summer at Muncie. So I had my buddy with me who had done this race twice already so it was great to have some insight from his experiences. I listen to @Coach Patrick and all his wisdom for this race and I felt more than prepared with no worries at all. Stayed off my feet and used the triathlon knowledge that I have obtained in hopes of a great race and an even fun time!
The swim was awesome! I seeded my self in the 1:31-1:40 group in hopes of just relaxing and swimming my own pace. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast! So I started out on the outside instead of swimming by the buoy's or the middle. Everybody was in the middle! I got a couple of cramps in calves and hamstrings due to all the excitement and wearing a wetsuit I think. Made it to the red buoy's and got kicked in the face. So I pulled over at one of the boats to readjust my goggles and get back at it so I could finish strong. I got to the canal and could see the 'light at the end of the tunnel'. I got out of the water and looked at my watch.....1:30:10!!! I was super pumped!! I could not believe! Work works!!! If I do this race again, I think I would seed my self in a faster group possibly.
T1 was 11:34 and I'm ok with that. I just wanted to get my heartrate down and just be calm. No sense in making a lot of mistakes trying to get in and out of there. I stayed outside the tent to prepare for the bike because it was warm inside the tent. Note to self.
The bike went better than I had expected it to be. After all my training I was just hoping for a sub 6 hour bike. I started out a little fast but typically do because of all the slower riders in front of me. First rookie mistake was when using race wheels I forgot to put my cadence meter on the back wheel, so that had me a little frazzled at the beginning. The pelotons were CRAZY out there! People were crashing at every group I came upon. I basically stayed away from all that and rode MY race the way my plan was suppose to go. Nutrition and hydration were on point till the end. I still haven't been able to pee on the bike in a race, and I'm 1.5-2bottles an hour! I think I'm part camel! Lol! I passed ALOT of people on the bike and felt like I need to slow down on the second lap to make sure I had enough gas for the run. I did catch a cramp in my right quad at the end of the bike. 6 bottles down. Maybe I should drink more? Final result was a 5:53:14, 18.46 average speed, 122 watts according to my Garmin. Normalized watts were 130. Which in turn died on me at mile 106. I thought I had it charged up. Note to self: don't stop at the last aid station for a Gatorade, just pick it up and go. Time would have been less. But I was still super pumped with the time!
T2 was 14:23 and yes I was ok with the time. I just wanted to make sure and use the bathroom before I started the run. And again I just wanted to get my heart rate down and hope I had enough to finish the run strong.
The run started fully fueled and I made it through the first 5K under 30 minutes, but in the back of my mind I was wondering if I drank enough on the bike to make it. So I kept a water bottle from the bike and carried in my back pocket during the run. I filled it up at the aid stations as needed. So after the first 5k, I just didn't feel right. I ended up walking and running as much as I could for the remainder of the race. I made sure too take pee breaks when needed and just kept going. Early on I thought I would have an opportunity to finish at 12-12:30 overall. But for most part I enjoyed the run, kept my mental focus and not wander off to a 'bad place'. The run ended up as a 5:29:27. There's work to be done before the next full IM. Plus my watch died and I didn't know what my run splits were either.
So I ended my first full I'm at 13:18:46! Not bad for a first timer I thought! I was super pumped of course and cried at the finish after Mike Rielly called my name. I've already made notes for the next time I get to do a full. I even purchased a new Garmin 920XT so I can get the correct results. Sorry for the long read. Any suggestions for the next time are appreciated. No more 70.3 or fulls this year due to some family surgery and work. So next year I'm already looking at doing Chatty 70.3 and follow that up with IM Lake Placid unless something changes between now and then. Thanks for your time.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=339773653214904&set=pb.100015468154050.-2207520000.1527368622.&type=3&size=960,958
https://www.facebook.com/keith.shireman.1/videos/vb.100015468154050/336977086827894/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab
I will say that I made a lot of 'rookie' mistakes for my first full IM but the goal was to finish no matter what. If things went well then I could work towards the long term goals of dropping times down and building on this. All of my training went very well! My swim improved along with the bike and the run. I did all my bike training on my trainer due to the cold weather and rain during this time. Nutrition worked out well and I even dropped race weight from 148 to 145lbs. So here goes my race results....if anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears!
I chose not to participate in the team dinners and such as I just wanted to try and duplicate what worked for me last summer at Muncie. So I had my buddy with me who had done this race twice already so it was great to have some insight from his experiences. I listen to @Coach Patrick and all his wisdom for this race and I felt more than prepared with no worries at all. Stayed off my feet and used the triathlon knowledge that I have obtained in hopes of a great race and an even fun time!
The swim was awesome! I seeded my self in the 1:31-1:40 group in hopes of just relaxing and swimming my own pace. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast! So I started out on the outside instead of swimming by the buoy's or the middle. Everybody was in the middle! I got a couple of cramps in calves and hamstrings due to all the excitement and wearing a wetsuit I think. Made it to the red buoy's and got kicked in the face. So I pulled over at one of the boats to readjust my goggles and get back at it so I could finish strong. I got to the canal and could see the 'light at the end of the tunnel'. I got out of the water and looked at my watch.....1:30:10!!! I was super pumped!! I could not believe! Work works!!! If I do this race again, I think I would seed my self in a faster group possibly.
T1 was 11:34 and I'm ok with that. I just wanted to get my heartrate down and just be calm. No sense in making a lot of mistakes trying to get in and out of there. I stayed outside the tent to prepare for the bike because it was warm inside the tent. Note to self.
The bike went better than I had expected it to be. After all my training I was just hoping for a sub 6 hour bike. I started out a little fast but typically do because of all the slower riders in front of me. First rookie mistake was when using race wheels I forgot to put my cadence meter on the back wheel, so that had me a little frazzled at the beginning. The pelotons were CRAZY out there! People were crashing at every group I came upon. I basically stayed away from all that and rode MY race the way my plan was suppose to go. Nutrition and hydration were on point till the end. I still haven't been able to pee on the bike in a race, and I'm 1.5-2bottles an hour! I think I'm part camel! Lol! I passed ALOT of people on the bike and felt like I need to slow down on the second lap to make sure I had enough gas for the run. I did catch a cramp in my right quad at the end of the bike. 6 bottles down. Maybe I should drink more? Final result was a 5:53:14, 18.46 average speed, 122 watts according to my Garmin. Normalized watts were 130. Which in turn died on me at mile 106. I thought I had it charged up. Note to self: don't stop at the last aid station for a Gatorade, just pick it up and go. Time would have been less. But I was still super pumped with the time!
T2 was 14:23 and yes I was ok with the time. I just wanted to make sure and use the bathroom before I started the run. And again I just wanted to get my heart rate down and hope I had enough to finish the run strong.
The run started fully fueled and I made it through the first 5K under 30 minutes, but in the back of my mind I was wondering if I drank enough on the bike to make it. So I kept a water bottle from the bike and carried in my back pocket during the run. I filled it up at the aid stations as needed. So after the first 5k, I just didn't feel right. I ended up walking and running as much as I could for the remainder of the race. I made sure too take pee breaks when needed and just kept going. Early on I thought I would have an opportunity to finish at 12-12:30 overall. But for most part I enjoyed the run, kept my mental focus and not wander off to a 'bad place'. The run ended up as a 5:29:27. There's work to be done before the next full IM. Plus my watch died and I didn't know what my run splits were either.
So I ended my first full I'm at 13:18:46! Not bad for a first timer I thought! I was super pumped of course and cried at the finish after Mike Rielly called my name. I've already made notes for the next time I get to do a full. I even purchased a new Garmin 920XT so I can get the correct results. Sorry for the long read. Any suggestions for the next time are appreciated. No more 70.3 or fulls this year due to some family surgery and work. So next year I'm already looking at doing Chatty 70.3 and follow that up with IM Lake Placid unless something changes between now and then. Thanks for your time.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=339773653214904&set=pb.100015468154050.-2207520000.1527368622.&type=3&size=960,958
https://www.facebook.com/keith.shireman.1/videos/vb.100015468154050/336977086827894/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab
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